The present invention relates to the cutting, chipping and chopping of wood and, more particularly, to a machine using a knife-like blade for cutting and chipping wood into relatively large pieces in a direction transverse, or at least approximately transverse, to the orientation and direction of the grain. Machines of the type to which the invention pertains are generally known and available in the trade. However, they all exhibit the drawback that they have a rather high requirement in power and force, and the split-off pieces of wood are not cut in the direction of the fibers and grain.